Understanding the perception of design students towards ChatGPT

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The benefits of artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled language models, such as ChatGPT, have contributed to their growing popularity in education. However, there is currently a lack of evidence regarding the perception of ChatGPT, specifically among design students. This study aimed to understand the product design (PD) and user experience design (UXD) students' views on ChatGPT and focused on an Indian university. The study employed a survey research design, utilizing questionnaires as the primary data collection method. The collected data (n = 149) was analyzed using descriptive statistics (i.e., frequency, percentage, average, and standard deviation (SD). Inferential statistics (i.e., one-way ANOVA) was used to understand the significant differences between the programs of study, gender, and academic level. The findings indicate that the students expressed admiration for the capabilities of ChatGPT and found it to be an interesting and helpful tool for their studies. In addition, the students' motivation towards using ChatGPT was moderate. Furthermore, the study observed significant differences between PD and UXD students and differences based on gender and academic level on certain variables. Notably, UXD students reported that ChatGPT does not understand their questions well, and formulating effective prompts for the tool was more challenging than for PD students. Based on the findings, the study recommends how educators should consider integrating ChatGPT into design education curricula and pedagogical practices. The insights aim to contribute to refining the use of ChatGPT in educational settings and exploring avenues for improving its effectiveness, ultimately advancing the field of AI in design education.